Georgetown economist asks: Was the blockade a blessing in disguise?

In a public talk titled “The Blockade Against Qatar: A Blessing in Disguise?” at the Qatar National Library on November 25, at 6 pm, Professor Alexis Antoniades, Georgetown University in Qatar’s (GU-Q) Director of International Economics, analyzed the impact the blockade had on Qatar and discussed the sources of the country’s remarkable perseverance two years on.

In his lecture, Dr. Antoniades layed out the conclusions of his recent study on the impact the blockade had on Qatar’s strategic policy formation. The study builds on a UREP project done in collaboration with GU-Q senior student, Rafia Al Jassim, and Associate Director of Strategy at Qatar Financial Center Authority, Khalique Gharatkar. “The research was motivated by two fundamental questions,” explained Dr. Antoniades. “We asked, what were the policy responses implemented by the State of Qatar to mitigate the cost of the blockade, and how exactly had these new policies turned the blockade into a blessing.”

The study provided the first in-depth examination of the impact the blockade had on Qatar’s economy and reviewed the policy responses that followed. In particular, Dr. Antoniades and his team considered how the policies that have emerged since complemented or deviated from past policies and practices and evaluated whether they have in fact brought long-term benefits to the country, benefits that perhaps could not have been realized had the blockade not taken place. “This is the first study to provide both a meticulous documentation of the policy responses that followed the blockade and an in-depth analysis of its impact,” said Dr. Antoniades.